John Mccook Named Head Professional At Lost Canyons Golf Club

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE06/29/00

JOHN MCCOOK NAMED HEAD PROFESSIONAL AT LOST CANYONS GOLF CLUB

Contact: Toby Zwikel/Fred RobledoBrener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., (818) 344-6195, Ext. 104/107SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – John McCook, energetic, innovative and service-oriented, has been named head golf professional at Lost Canyons Golf Club, it was announced today by Jay Colliatie, project director and director of golf of the 36-hole facility. The two 18-hole canyon courses, designed by famed architect Pete Dye (PGA TOUR pro Fred Couples is a course consultant), are scheduled to open in October and December of 2000.“We are extremely fortunate to have McCook in charge of our operation at Lost Canyons,” said Colliatie. “He has worked at some of the finest golf courses in Southern California and his experience and ability to relate to people will help make our facility one of the finest public golf courses in the nation.”McCook, 29, the former head professional at Ocean Trails in Palos Verdes, has also worked at Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach, Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert and Rancho Las Palmas Country Club in Rancho Mirage.“I am very excited about the future of Lost Canyons,” said McCook. “My No. 1 priority is going to be customer service. I want to make Lost Canyons the most enjoyable golf experience for all who come here. We want to get young people started in golf, and we will with start-up programs, clinics, junior programs and other programs for the community.”As the head professional, McCook will oversee the entire operation of the golf course, which includes the pro shop, the dining room and lounge, tournaments, group functions, banquets, weddings, the practice facility, the golf school and the overall marketing of the facility.McCook believes his experience at other resort and high-end private and public courses will serve him well at Lost Canyons. “I believe the most important thing you can do is provide excellent service for your members at all levels, public or private,” McCook said. “You have to treat them special from the moment they arrive. The courses and the clubhouse will be spectacular, and the service has to match.”A Long Beach native who played junior golf in the area until his was 10, McCook’s family moved to Oregon where he went to high school and attended Southern Oregon State College. McCook took up skiing and even became a ski instructor, but his first love was always golf and the clubs came out as soon as the snow disappeared.McCook returned to Southern California and moved to Palm Desert, where he started working at Rancho Las Palmas. From there he took a job at Bighorn Golf Club assisting with the Skins Game until 1993. His next move was to Newport Beach where he was the assistant pro at Pelican Hill for two years before taking a job as the head professional at the Ocean Trails Golf Club.McCook is so excited about Lost Canyons Golf Club, he is certain that visitors from Los Angeles and Orange County to the south and Santa Barbara and other points north, are going to find the course spectacular and the atmosphere exhilarating.Besides the two 18-hole golf courses, the master plan for Lost Canyons includes an elegant lodge and estate home sites. Landmark National, a consortium of interests specializing in real estate investment, development and management, is developing Lost Canyons. Landmark National has developed more than 25 golf courses, including the famed PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, Calif., and Kiawah Island, S.C.Lost Canyons represents Landmark National’s debut in Los Angeles. Landmark National currently has golf course properties under development in Houston and Padre Island, Texas, Maryland, Mississippi and Ireland.Hillwood (www.hillwood.com), another member of the consortium, is one step ahead of a changing world, using technology and innovation to create better places to live, work, learn and play. Among Hillwood’s other projects are the dynamic 75-acre Victory project that includes American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas, Circle T Ranch in Westlake, Texas; Heritage in north Fort Worth; prestigious golf courses in Houston, Los Angeles and Westlake, Texas; and residential communities in Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii.